Three internet fraud kingpins, Gospel Asawari, Asuquo Daniel Bright, and Chile Mark Chioma, have been sentenced to one year in jail each by Justice P.I. Ajoku of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
They were found guilty of impersonation and obtaining money through false pretences, in violation of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015, and punishable under Section 22 (2) of the same Act.
The convictions and sentences were handed down on Thursday, July 20, 2023, after the defendants pleaded “guilty” to the separate one-count charges brought against them by the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The prosecution counsel, K. A. Yunus, A. J. Obagie, and A. Abubakar, requested the court to convict and sentence the defendants as charged in light of their pleas.
On the other hand, the defendants’ counsel, G. N. Chukwu, B. F. Esaenwi, and E. S. Aluzu, appealed to the court for leniency.
Justice Ajoku ruled in favor of the prosecution and sentenced each defendant to one year in prison.
Additionally, they were ordered to pay a fine of Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N200,000.00) into the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Furthermore, the Judge mandated that items recovered from the convicts, including one Infinix Smart 6 plus, one black iPhone XR, one iPhone 13 Pro Max, the sum of One Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($150.00 USD), and one iPhone 8 mobile device, be forfeited to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
As part of their sentence, the convicts are required to submit an affidavit of good behavior.
Their arrest occurred in June 2023 during a sting operation at Rivtaf Golf Estate, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by operatives of the EFCC.
The investigation said that the convicts operated various fake social media accounts to defraud mainly foreigners.
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